Val's Email Sunday School: Living in Uncertainty

March 23–29

Enos–Words of Mormon

President Nelson posted a “Message of Hope” this week. In it he reassured us that despite current events, he remains optimistic about the future. His message was brief and hopeful, but what stood out to me was the one scripture he chose to quote. He said we can find comfort in uncertain times when we remember the promise the savior made when he said, “I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say.” Why should this specific phrase give us comfort in times of trial or uncertainty? He is emphasizing that the Lord cannot lie (Enos 1:6) and keeps his promises to his saints.

What promises has the Lord made to us? There are a lot. Perhaps now is a good time to brush up on those and look for those promises in our scripture study. Usually there is an “if” followed by a “then” in these promises. For example: if you “. . .feast upon the words of Christ; [then] the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” If we feast upon the words of Christ, then we’ll know what to do. Sounds good, especially in a time of uncertainty when we’re not sure what to do.

Here’s another one: If we are “willing to take upon [us] the name of [God’s] Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments . . . ” then we “may always have his Spirit to be with [us].” Oh wait, that’s one that we participate in every week. How does having the Lord’s spirit with us benefit us? Galations 5:22 teaches us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance . . .” Who here could use a little more of these in their life right now? You don’t have to raise your hands. It’s all of us. Fear, anxiety, worry, or doubt aren’t fruits of the spirit. According to the scriptures the remedy to being worried or unsettled is having having The Spirit of God, or the Comforter, with us.

But I digress. The scriptural promise that stands out to me the most this week, which also happened to be in the reading and is repeated 9 different places throughout the Book of Mormon, is the promise that inasmuch as we keep the commandments of the Lord, we’ll prosper in the land (Jarom 1:9). We’re also promised several places in the scriptures that this will be a “land of liberty” and a “chosen land.” This brings to mind promises of Zion and how the Lord repeatedly says he’ll protect his people. We are told that Zion is “the pure in heart” and it is “wherever righteous Saints are.” We’re told that “Spiritual security will always depend upon how one lives, not where one lives.”

The reading this week begins with Enos praying over the welfare of his own soul. After praying all day and into the night, Enos hears a voice tell him that his sins are forgiven. Enos asks how it’s done, and the Lord replies, “Because of thy faith in Christ. . . thy faith hath made thee whole.” We see that faith is the power that causes miracles to happen throughout the scriptures. Christ himself is not the power that makes the miracles happen, but faith in him. Some examples are the woman with the issue of blood. Christ didn’t heal her, but her faith in him did. He didn’t play an active role in that healing; she played an active role by exercising faith. It’s interesting to note that even the apostles who walked with Jesus lacked faith at times and were sometimes unable to heal people because of their "unbelief" or "faithlessness". When we consider that the Articles of Faith state that the first principle of the Gospel is “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” it should emphasize to us the central importance of understanding and attaining it.

Moroni 7 is a great chapter that discusses faith. Verse 37 says that “it is by faith that miracles are wrought,” again reaffirming that faith is the power that accomplishes these things. There are scriptures that say that salvation comes by faith. Moroni 7 and Mormon 9 discuss how we believe in an unchanging God, and if he performed miracles and wonders in the past, he also does so now. If he doesn’t, it is because of unbelief. Mormon 9:20 states, “20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.”

This points out to me the importance of knowing the nature or character of God. Lectures on Faith discusses the importance of this as well. When our faith is rooted in a correct understanding of who we are resting our faith in, that’s when our faith has power. Matthew 17 tells us that “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” We begin to see a pattern emerging in the scriptures where faith plays a very central role in everything from happiness in daily life to salvation and miracles. Hebrews 11 goes even farther saying "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

Difficult or uncertain times serve as a proving ground. They are a test, a trial of faith. They give us an opportunity to apply the things we say that we believe. They give us an opportunity to examine where our true trust lies. Life is never certain, and there are times that this is more obvious than others. Living by faith is living according to what we say we believe not only in good times, but also when our safety nets are stripped away and the outcome is more uncertain than ever. Hard times are when you choose what you really believe, and then live that way, especially when your path to success is unclear.

It’s understandable that we are unsettled when the things we consider stable are upended. It’s a normal reaction to be anxious or worried about what the future might hold. However, even when we feel more secure, the future is never assured. Nothing has really changed--so much is outside of our control. If we are worried about our ability to navigate in a rapidly changing world, believing that we can have guidance that tells us all things that we should do is reassuring. If we’re worried about our ability to be happy amid chaos, turmoil, and wickedness, we can be reassured by Alma 50, which teaches us that despite the wickedness of much of the people which brought wars and destructions, the faithful people who followed the Lord were delivered and “there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi.”

If, despite all these reassurances that the scriptures give us, we’re still disconcerted and unsettled, ponder this. Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” If you are fearful, contemplate what you’re fearful about. Are you worried about money? If you’ve followed the advice of the prophets, you’ve reduced your debt and lived within your means. If you haven’t been prudent with your money, recognize the wisdom in what we’ve been taught and resolve to start living more responsibly. We are also taught that we shouldn’t trust in the arm of the flesh and fear man more than God. Trusting in money instead of God won’t give you peace.

Are you worried about running out of supplies? The prophets have taught for decades to be as prepared as your circumstances permit. For many of us that includes food storage of months or years. However, beyond working to prepare ourselves as best we can, the scriptures teach us to “consider the lilies” expounding that “if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Are you afraid of suffering? If we’ve learned about the nature of God and actually believe it, we know that first and foremost he is loving and wants what’s best for us. If we build on this framework, we can see that “that all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8). Doctrine and Covenants takes this further teaching us that “If thou art called to pass through tribulation . . . if thou art in perils among robbers . . . if thine enemies fall upon thee . . . and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb; And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee. . . if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” We are supposed to trust that all things that we experience will work for our good, and the greater good, if we keep the commandments and love God. Simple, but not easy.

Are we afraid of death? We are never guaranteed that death won’t find us. Any of us could die at any time. We’re mortal. Accidents happen. Disease happens. All of us will eventually die. That’s what it means to be mortal and human. If we’ve forgotten this, then it’s a good wakeup call. We aren’t guaranteed more time. We are supposed to use the time we have here and now to prepare to meet God, to live our lives according to our values the best that we can so that if/when someday we die we can feel confident knowing that we did “all we could do.” I interpret all we can do to mean the best that we know how considering our circumstances, emotional and mental health, stage of spiritual development, knowledge, etc. We try to do the best in all areas of our life, so that when we have to account for how we have behaved and treated our friends and family we can confidently state that we did the best we knew how and mean it. If you don’t feel like you can say this, figure out why and try to fix it. Life is never guaranteed.

If you’re afraid of uncertainty, work on living by faith. The scriptures teach us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you need an anchor in uncertain times, He is that anchor. He’s the one thing that scriptures teach us does not change. Jesus promised us this, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

To read more that I've written about Faith click here.